One of the big stories in the National Football League this year is Peyton Manning’s assault on Dan Marino’s single season record of 44 touchdown passes. Marino isn’t excited about the prospect of his record being surpassed this year.

The quarterback who threw 48 touchdown passes for the Dolphins in 1984 watches the Indianapolis Colts quarterback now and has accepted that one of his most cherished records likely will fall.

And Marino is not exactly loving the idea.

“I wouldn’t be human if I told you that I want to see someone else beat it,” Marino said of the record. “If anybody is going to do it, you’d like to see a guy like Peyton because of what he’s done and the type of person that he is.”

With 44 touchdown passes in the books already, and just four games to go, Manning needs only four more to tie the mark. He’s been averaging almost that many per game this season, so it is extremely likely that the record will fall. As somebody who grew up in South Florida watching Marino throw a bunch of touchdown passes for the Dolphins, and a fan who watched Peyton Manning during his career at Tennessee, I must admit to mixed feelings about Manning’s assault on the record book. I am sorry that Marino’s name will not be at the top of the list, but he is assured a spot in the Hall of Fame, and from my perspective, if the record is going to fall who better than Manning to own it.